Located in the same building as Bickfaya's police station is Furn el Hayek, a bakery I visit on a weekly basis. This may be an average Lebanese bakery but what they offer is not so average... The Hayek family, Souad, Mounira and Richard welcome you to enjoy a selection of homemade bites, mouajannat, manakish and kaak... I drive all the way up to enjoy their kaaka every week.
Furn el Hayek has great Kaaka, the usual Kaaka Asrouniya, but with a French touch. The Kaaka is like a Pain au Lait. But in fact, they do not use milk or any additives - they just mix flour, salt, yeast and water with a sesame seed covering.
- Let's start with the cheese Kaaka: a thin, crunchy dough that's not chewy, unlike all the other kaak you know, and that's filled with a lightly sweet, melted akkawi cheese on both sides of the dough. The Kaaka itself is lighter than usual, looks fresh and makes you think it's a Pain au Lait.
- The cheese and ham version is also special. The same crunch, the same melting cheese, crunchy crust, but with slices of ham. I really love it. I rarely feel like writing about a bakery or its kaak, but once you start you cannot stop and you have to know about it.
- Next up was the Zaatar. The same Kaaka filled with Zaatar, a generous and flavorful Zaatar, mixed with sesame, lightly acidic, fresh and ready to amaze. The Kaaka again is the magical part. They will cut it into triangles which you'll enjoy one at a time.
Best for last, something I didn't taste but simply discovered by mistake, is a kashkawan cheese roll which will make me come back here in the weeks to come. The same Kaaka dough covered with kashkawan, sealed on the sides before entering the oven. It's simply mouthwatering.
Check the photos and let your imagination drive you to Bickfaya, to Furn el Hayek.
